HOLLYWOOD: Caught in the live-act

Live action films take over the Hollywood box-office along with superhero franchises and multi-starrer dramas.

AladdinCast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari
Release date: May 24
Watch out for: Director Guy Ritchie changes genre gears for his “ambitious and non-traditional” take on Aladdin in live-action format. Massoud and Scott landed the main roles after a worldwide casting call involving thousands of hopefuls. Smith plays the Genie, formerly essayed by the late Robin Williams.

The Lion KingCast: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, Keegan-Michael Key, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones
Release date: July 19
Watch out for: This Jon Favreau directorial expected to be a significant push toward live-action and brings back Jones as Mufasa. Glover’s frontman is joined by Rogen and Eichner (as Timon and Pumba) and Beyonce (as Nala).

Once Upon a Time in HollywoodCast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, James Marsden, and Al Pacino
Release date: July 26
What out for: Quentin Tarantino’s ninth directorial is a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood in 1969 with the biggest names forming the acting line-up. The film is set against the backdrop of the Manson murders with Robbie playing Sharon Tate and DiCaprio as an out of work actor.

Spiderman: Far From HomeCast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L Jackson
Release date: July 5
Watch out for: Holland’s hero will continue his adventures in a second standalone film in 2019, which will follow another year of Peter’s high school experience. The film brings back elements that contributed to its greatness — including director Jon Watts, who’s working from a script by Homecoming co-writers Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

Avengers: EndgameCast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, others
Release date: April 26
Watch out for: Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, this one will mark the end of Marvel’s Phase 3 and subsequently, a no-holds-barred approach is expected from the makers. It will end dozens of storylines set up in past films while placing the framework for what’s to come.

John Wick: ParabellumCast: Keannu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Angelica Huston
Release date: May 16
Watch out for: Reeves’s animal-loving titular assassin is coming back, yet again, except this time the intricate network of homeless agents and high-powered assassins and swanky hotels crisscrossing the globe won’t be able to help him. The stakes are high –he is on the run with a $14 million contract for his head.

GlassCast: James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson
Release date: January 18
Watch out for: M. Night Shyamalan continues his superhero trilogy with a story that has been 20 years in the making and is a sequel to 2017’s Split—whose final act unexpectedly tied in with 2000’s Unbreakable. The director has described the film as a story about the struggle between “doubt versus belief.”

DumboCast: Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin
Release date: March 29
Watch out for: Tim Burton’s re-telling of the 1941 classic is hailed as the most intriguing of all live-action films in Disney pipeline. It revolves around a circus elephant with an ability to fly. It’s set to be loosely inspired by the original film.

Alita: Battle AngelCast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein
Release date: February 8
Watch out for: James Cameron-produced adaptation of the eponymous Japanese manga is directed by Robert Rodriguez. It is a blend of live-action and CGI about a cyborg girl who faces her past with the help of the scientist who rescued her from the scrap heap.

JokerCast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Bill Camp
Release date: October 4
Watch out for: After Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto put his tattooed spin on the comic book villain, The Hangover filmmaker Todd Phillips directs this Scorsese-inspired riff on the character featuring Joaquin Phoenix.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden WorldCast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill
Release date: February 22
Watch out for: The final instalment marks the return of the franchise’s Oscar-nominated writerdirector Dean DeBlois, who says it will be the “culmination of Hiccup’s coming of age.” Expect an intense, no-holds-barred plot.

What Men WantCast: Taraji P Henson
Release date: January 25
Watch out for: This gender-swapped take on the Mel Gibson comedy What Women Want sees Taraji P Henson playing a sports agent who can hear what the men in her industry are thinking.

The FavouriteCast: Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone
Release date: January 1
Watch out for: Olivia Colman has already bagged a Golden Globe nod and is one of the favourites to take home the Best Actress Oscar for her turn as Queen Anne. The drama from auteur Yorgos Lanthimos has been drawing rave reviews.

Pet SemataryCast: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow, Jeté Laurence
Release date: April 5
Watch out for: The monster success of IT has paved way for a new wave of Stephen King screen adaptations. This interpretation of his 1983 novel about a family moving into a house with a haunted animal graveyard nearby comes from promising director-duo Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer.

HellboyCast: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane
Release date: April 12
Watch out for: In what is widely described as a gritty take on the classic Mike Mignola comics, David Harbour — the father figure sheriff of Stranger Things — is taking on the big red demon. This version focusses on the Nimue (a.k.a. The Queen of Blood) arc of the comics.

Godzilla: King Of The MonstersCast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Ken Watanabe, others
Release date: May 31
Watch out for: The follow-up to the wellreceived 2014 film featuring the monster brings in a largely overhauled roster of stars, with Stranger Things’ Brown, Bates Motel’s Farmiga, and Friday Night Lights’ Chandler playing a family swept up in the trouble the monster causes. Then, there’s Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah for a full-on kaiju war.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second PartCast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Tiffany Haddish
Release date: February 8
Watch out for: The surprise hit of 2014 which made $469 million worldwide is returning with a story that investigates gender differences between how boys and girls play, building on the Duplo pieces introduced by Finn’s sister at the end of the first film. Trolls’ Mike Mitchell to direct alongside Lego Batman Movie vet Trisha Gum.

Ad AstraCast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Donald Sutherland
Release date: May 24
Watch out for: If you liked Interstellar, you may want to scope this one out. This science-fiction story features Pitt as Army Corps engineer Roy McBride, a man on an obsessive quest to understand how and why his lost father’s mission to Neptune failed.

Captain MarvelCast: Brie Larson, Jude Law, Samuel L Jackson
Release date: March 8
Watch out for: Marvel’s first female-led superhero film will be long overdue when it hits theatres, but the film is shaping up to be worth the wait. Oscar winner Larson features as Carol Danvers, who is said to be, according to studio bosses, “as powerful a character as we’ve ever put in a movie.”

Toy Story 4Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Release date: June 21
Watch out for: If you didn’t empty your tear ducts during Toy Story 3, the fourth instalment is on the way. After several delays, Woody, Buzz and the rest of their pals are returning to the screen with a new story, featuring a strange new character: Forky.

Live action films take over the Hollywood box-office along with superhero franchises and multi-starrer dramas

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